My thanks to
Jeffrey Ng for advising that
Sentosa Leisure group in Singapore has received two units of Volvo
B12BLEA
articulated bus chassis and has configured them as trams for use on
their
beach tram routes. The 2 units have bodies jointly built by
Comfortdelgro
Engineering and Liannex Corporation, and have been registered as
WC2649C
and WC2820Z respectively.

The two units
have several unique features:

Toast
rack seating for 30 at the
front sectionPerimeter seating
for 19 at the rear section
on the standard floor portion.A standing area
on the low floor portion
of the rear section. No passageway
between front and rear section
despite them being chassis meant for articulated buses, i.e.,
passengers
in the front section cannot walk to the rear section without first
alighting
from the tram/busThe standard
floor portion of the rear section
is open top.

30th
January 2009

I have tonight
been advised by 80M
Bus Model Shop that the Venus Collectibles KMB Dennis Dragon,
featured
in the News items below, should be more generally available in
February,
when it will appear on their website.

The Xtra
section of the site is currently receiving a 'makeover' to brighten it
up. In addition, to give itmore of an identity, the
new
logo is being introduced.

28th
January 2009

Further photographs have tonight been added of
the Venus Collectibles Dennis Dragon M3N01.
Several show the comparison between this diecast model and the resin model
of 3N2, which was released in January 2008 by P & T Model (B0026).
My sincere thanks to Jacky Ho, Ernest Chu and Network
Shuttle for supplying the photographs

27th
January 2009

Photograph courtesy and
copyright ofJacky Ho

My thanks to
Jacky Ho for sending me further
photographs of the recently released Venus Collectibles Dennis Dragon M3N01,
the first of which is pictured above. More are in the process of being
added to the relevant page.

26th
January 2009

Photograph courtesy and
copyright ofErnest Chu

Pictured above
is a new diecast release from
Venus Collectibles. It features Kowloon Motor Bus Dennis Dragon 3N1. It
is on route 42A to Cheung Hang and is limited to 999 pieces. It carries
a product code of M3N01.
It does not carry any KMB logos and is therefore assumed not to be
licensed
by KMB. It is retailing for HK$339.

Confirmation has
tonight been received from
80M
Bus Model Shop that the Buses Model Co. KMB Leyland Olympian (BLS30103),
on route 70, is set to be released on Thursday 29th January. Additional
photographs are currently being added.

25th
January 2009

Photograph courtesy and
copyright of Northern
Blue Transport Images

My thanks to
Garry Luck for allowing me to
use another of his 'what might have been images', this time being a
China
Motor Bus ECW bodied Leyland Olympian. A larger image of that shown
above,
together with some other interesting vehicles, can be found on Garry's
Fotopic site, Northern
Blue Transport Images .

24th
January 2009

Photograph courtesy and
copyright ofDennis Wong

The ex-Argos
Dennis Dominators have now joined
the operational fleet of the Big Bus Company. Pictured today in Central
is FX5737, which has been allocated fleet no. 9, whilst FW7510 has been
allocated fleet no. 10. My thanks to Dennis Wong for sending me a wide
selection of photographs, which have tonight been added to the Xtra
section of the site.

22nd
January 2009

My thanks to
Dennis Law for sending me some
further photographs of the New World First Bus 'Year of the Ox'
Enviro500,
which have now been added to the Xtra
section of the site.

21st
January 2009

Photographs courtesy and
copyright ofDave Rogers

With the recent
press release from Creative
Master Northcord, giving details of their entry into the North American
model bus market with the 1/87th scale Alexander
Dennis Enviro500,
it is appropriate to feature the above Megabus models for which Dave
Rogers
has kindly provided details. The first, from Hollandoto, is a
1:87
scale die-cast and plastic model, which represents Coach USA
fleetnumber
DD001, a Van Hool TD 925 Astromega.

The second is a
single-decker, produced by
Tonkin Replicas, Seattle and is a 1/64th scale
die-cast model.
It represents Independent Bus Company fleet number 29045, a Motor Coach
Industry (MCI) E4500, although the description on the box is simply
'Grayline
Megabus'.

Those of you who access
the site via the 'Home'
page will have noticed a few changes - any comments welcome - please e-mail
me!

I am now able to
provide further details
on the forthcoming resin releases commissioned by Concorde Hobby Shop.

Pictured above
are the two versions of the
Kowloon Motor Bus MCW Metrorider (CHS0901).
AMR1 (DY6050) is on route 208 to Tsim Sha Tsua East. I am not sure
whether
this spelling error is limited to the pre-productioon model or not.
AMR2
(EA4591) is on route 299 to Sai Kung. Both are limited to 200 pieces
each.
It is believed these models will be issued before the end of January,
but
after the release of the model below.

As reported
earlier this week, Concorde
Hobby Shop are also releasing a Kowloon Motor Bus Seddon
Pennine 4
(CHS0902).
It is now confirmed that there will be two versions, each limited to
150
pieces. The first features AR7604 on route 33 to Tsuen Wan Ferry whilst
the second features AR7606 on route 40 to Kwun Tong Ferry. It is
believed
this model will be issued next week.

From
Tiger to Ox

Photograph courtesy and
copyright ofDave Rogers

My thanks to
Dave Rogers for sending me several
photographs entitled 'From Tiger to Ox'. Further photographs have
tonight
been added to the Xtra
section of the site, under the 'Other Items'
category.

Photograph courtesy and
copyright ofAlex Cheng

My thanks to
Alex Cheng for sending me photographs
of the New World First Bus 'Year of the Ox' decorated Enviro500, which
he took earlier today.

New pages have
tonight been added to the
Xtra
section of the site for each of the Year of the Ox vehicles.

18th
January 2009

Following the
enormous interest shown in
the Hong Kong images on the Northern
Blue Transport Images fotopic site, site owner Garry advises
that he
is preparing further vehicle and livery variations. The first of these,
a long-wheelbase Series I Bristol VR in China Motor Bus blue livery, is
planned to be published this weekend (17th/18th January).

Photograph courtesy and
copyright ofDennis Wong

My thanks to
Dennis Wong for advising that
all of Big Bus's ex-NWFB/CMB Condors have now been registered and all
have
been allocated fleet numbers, which are carried in the nearside of the
front windscreen. Details of the fleet numbers can be found in the Xtra
section of the site, along with a larger, higher resolution of the
above
photograph.

16th
January 2009

Photograph courtesy and
copyright ofCreative Master
Northcord Ltd.

In a press
release today, Creative Master
Northcord Limited has announced the planned production of a new
casting,
the nabus1000 range, based on the 12 metre, left hand drive version of
the Alexander Dennis Limited Enviro500 for the North American market.
Produced
to a scale of 1/87, or HO in railway terms, the nabus 1000 range will
include
three main castings:

Pictured below are a
couple of photographs from
the Xtra
section of the site, showing examples of the real buses.

Photograph courtesy and
copyright ofPeter Harrison

Photograph courtesy and
copyright ofAlistair
Liddle

15th
January 2009

Photograph courtesy and
copyright ofAlan W.L. Wong

My thanks to
Dennis Law for sending me Alan
Wong's superb photograph showing Citybus Alexander Dennis Enviro500 No.
8103 in 'Year of the Ox' livery. A larger image can be found on the
individual
model page (80894).

Any further
photographs of the various 'Year
of the Ox' buses would be most welcome.

This resin
Kowloon Motor Bus Seddon Pennine
4, produced for Concorde
Hobby
Shop, is expected to be released within the next few weeks.
It features
AR7604 on route 33 to Tsuen Wan Ferry and is limited to 300 pieces.

13th
January 2009

My sincere
thanks to Alex Cheng, whose photograph
is pictured above, and Dennis Law for kindly sending me photographs
taken
yesterday at the annual Hong Kong Transport Society Bus Rally. Owing to
a shortage of time this evening, I have only been able to add some of
these
to the Xtra
section of the site, the remainder will be added tomorrow evening.

12th
January 2009

The 1/24th
scale Best Choose China Motor
Bus Daimler DMS with Salem all-over advertising (05243)
has been released in Hong Kong. It is limited to 150 pieces.

11th
January 2009

Photographs courtesy and
copyright ofGarry
Luck

I am very
grateful to Garry Luck for allowing
me to use the above images of some 'might have been' buses, which I am
sure you will agree are quite superb. I would strongly recommend
viewing
the full size images of these Routemasters, together with a vast
selection
of other types, on Garry's Fotopic site entitled Northern
Blue Transport Images.

The above two
Kowloon Motor Bus models are
due to be released in Hong Kong on Saturday 10th January.

Drumwell's
Mercedes-Benz 0305 (DW10403)
in standard livery features ME16 on route 75K to Tai Mei Tuk and is
limited
to 1,800 pieces. The Cars Workshop Volvo Olympian (92203)
carries 'Year of the Ox' decorations and features AV393 on route 3C to
Tsz
Wan Shan (North). The quantity believed to be shown on the Limited
Edition
certificate reads 5,000 although I am awaiting confirmation of this.

The Hong Kong
Transport Society will hold
their 2009 Bus Rally on Sunday 11th January at PTU Headquarters in
Fanling.

My thanks to Stefan König
for providing
details and photographs of four new trams, not previously recorded
here.
Two are from Sun Hing Toys and appear to use the same casting as those
produced by WJB, whilst the other two are produced by Sunny Max
International.
Details can be found in the Trams
section of site - just look for the New
symbol.
If you are able to provide any further details of any of these models,
including translations of the adverts carried, please e-mail
me.

I was intrigued by
seating capacities shown
in one of Dennis Law's photographs of the Big Bus Company operations in
Hong Kong. It shows the upper (53) and lower (37) deck seating
capacities,
with the words 'Passengers capacity not more than 56' below. It is
believed
that Big Bus Company purchased some non-franchise coach licences from
local
operators, the maximum capacity of those licences being 56 passengers.

BSI Hobbies has
announced that their latest
publication – The Fleet Directory of Hong Kong Buses – KMB &
Long Win
Bus (2nd Edition) – will be released in mid-January. Priced at $128
each,
members of Hong Kong Transport Society, Bus Fan World, as well as
Universal
Transport Fans Association, can enjoy a discounted price of $112
between
20th and 25th January at designated outlets. Further information is now
available at the BSI
Hobbies website.

Due to be
released in Hong Kong tomorrow
are the Citybus (80894)
and New World First Bus (80893),
'Year of the Ox' Enviro500s from 80M Bus Model Shop. Further
photographs
will be added during the evening.

A new page has tonight
been added for the resin
China Motor Motor Bus Guy Arab UF from Hong Kong Model Co. (8042A)
featured in yesterdays news.

Thanks again to Philip
Chan for providing photographs,
taken today, of another Dennis Condor which has entered service for the
Big Bus Company in Hong Kong. Like those received yesterday, these have
now been added to the Xtra
section of the site.

Although
reference was made to the three
variants of resin China Motor Bus Guy Arab UF from Hong Kong Model Co.
on 10th December, I was not aware that these had in fact been released
on 7th December. Full details of these models will be added shortly.

My thanks to Philip Chan
for sending me photographs
taken today of the latest Dennis Condor to enter service for the Big
Bus
Company in Hong Kong, and these have now been added to the Xtra
section of the site.